Helping to stop knee damage

A young entrepreneur from Gourock has reimagined the traditional knee pad design to launch a product aimed at tradespeople which reduces pressure on the knee by 76%.

Vicky Hamilton, 27, a product design engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde originally developed Recoil Kneepads as part of her final year project. She was inspired to help her dad, Gordon Hamilton, 49, who suffers from osteoarthritis, which he believes has been caused by his lifelong career as a joiner.

Vicky’s design incorporates a double layer system that absorbs impact and reduces pressure across the entire knee joint, rather than focusing on one small area. The result is Recoil Protective Knee Pads, which have been on the market for over 1 year now.

The product is aimed at manual workers with the annual rate of musculoskeletal injuries in the construction sector statistically significantly higher (approx. 2%) than all other industries (1.3%), according to HSE (2014/2015).

The knee pads have been put through their paces at the University of Strathclyde, with tests finding they decrease pressure by 76%.